TeamBlackHat has publicly released a leaked official Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) software update build for the Motorola DROID X. To install the update, you must have the DROID X Bootstrapper by Koush. Instructions and download links below:

Installing Firmware1. Download this file from the TBH app or one of the mirrors below 2. Use Bootstrap to get your phone into recovery. 3. Create a backup (This is not compatible with new firmware) 4.

DANGER: There is a link to download this unofficial, unsupported CM7 ROM in an XDA thread linked at the bottom of this post. Use of that software is 100% at your own risk, and unless you're a developer, there's not much reason to be playing with at this point. There is no data connectivity, no sound, and no Google Apps. Consider yourself warned.

A number of Gingerbread-hungry developers (including some from the CyanogenMod team, particularly Slayher) are hard at work preparing CyanogenMod 7 for its Thunderbolt debut, and progress is steadily being made.

Conspiracy theorists would have you believe that the ThunderBolt's signed (and locked) bootloader was all Verizon's doing, but it appears that isn't quite the case - the Incredible S, one of HTC's unlocked GSM phones, is shipping with a similar failsafe system. That basically means no custom ROMs for you (at least until a viable workaround is discovered).

Proof? Look no further than the contents of this Incredible S RUU:

From what our friends at AndIRC can tell (note that they don't have a device in hand), the Incredible S includes a signature check much like the one on the ThunderBolt.

That didn't take long. A collaborative effort between numerous Android hackers just managed to crack the Thunderbolt's bootloader wide open, successfully booting a custom recovery image. They also incidentally discovered a new root method in the process. Credit goes to jcase, jamezelle, and scotty2 (and all of andirc) for working out the details, and ProTekk and Trident for putting their shiny new Thunderbolts on the line. Here's the visual proof:

Image credit: Trident, ProTekk

We'll keep you apprised on the situation with instructions on how to go about unlocking your own Thunderbolt as we get more information.

Some of our good friends over at AndIRC (most thanks going to scotty2 for discovering it, and Trident for being the guinea pig) have discovered a bit of troubling information regarding the HTC Thunderbolt: its bootloader and recovery are locked. What does that mean, exactly?

Fans of the iPhone MIUI should be happy to hear that Beta 1 of MIUI Weather has been released to the public, and can now be downloaded in APK form. It looks every bit as beautiful as what we've come to expect from MIUI, and is done in a style to match other MIUI offerings (namely, the browser, ROM, and clock).

The app does have geolocation, but users need to download different APKs depending on their region - for example, there's an APK specifically for Europe, and there are 5 for the US (broken up alphabetically).

Cyanogen has just announced via the CM blog that CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidate 2 is rolling out now for supported devices. The team has managed to work in the changes found in Android 2.3.3, and this is the first RC to pack WiMAX for the EVO (previously it was only found in nightlies). CM7 has been feature-frozen with RC2 as well, meaning the team will focus on fixing bugs from this point on.

The XDA forums are on fire this afternoon after a user posted a thread linking to a Polish Android forum, claiming to contain a download for an official Gingerbread build for the Samsung Galaxy S i9000. Before you get too excited, let me reiterate: this is not for US devices, and I would not recommend trying it on your Captivate/Vibrant/Fascinate/Epic.

That said, the handy development community will get their paws on this and have a field day, so you may be seeing unofficial Gingerbread ROMs for US phones (aside from CyanogenMod 7) start floating around on XDA in the next week or so.

Well, the title explains it pretty well, but I'll provide you some documented evidence:

That's right, folks. Sending in your XOOM to Motorola while it's rooted will get it sent right back. Motorola will not provide 4G LTE upgrades to XOOM devices that have been rooted, plain and simple.

A forum moderator in the same Motorola support thread indicates that it's not quite as hard-line as the first responder indicated, and that your XOOM simply must be stock in terms of software functionality when Motorola receives it.